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Dubai court ruling on ownership of superyacht LUNA to be appealed

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By Katia Damborsky 10 September 2018

After the 155m/377ft motor yacht LUNA was awarded to the owner’s ex-wife in ongoing divorce proceedings last month, the owner claims he will appeal the ruling in the UAE.

The saga over the ownership of LUNA continues, as owner Farkhad Akhmedov claims he will appeal the validity of his 2000 divorce of ex-wife Tatiana Akhmedova in Russia in the next two months.

The appeal comes after a Sharia court upheld a former ruling that the ownership of the superyacht be transferred to Tatiana Akhmedova as part of a 2016 divorce payout.

A spokesperson for Akhmedov has disputed claims that LUNA will be available for the owner’s wife to sell soon, saying that it would “take years before the Dubai full legal processes are exhausted.”

Pool and sun pads aboard luxury yacht LUNA

“We never expected any other outcome at this stage and remain confident that Luna will be free to leave Dubai once the judges have heard the full facts of the matter.” The statement reads.

“Last week’s hearing, presided over by a single judge, did not consider the legal arguments in any detail.

“Mr Akhmedov anticipates that Russian courts will be ruling within the next month on the validity of the original 2000 divorce between Mr Akhmedov and his ex-wife Tatiana. It is that divorce which fundamentally underlined the misguided decisions of the English high court in awarding her a second divorce payout in 2016.” The statement continues.

The largest expedition yacht in the world, motor yacht LUNA features an Ice Class Hull and is the first superyacht to be built to Passenger Yacht Code Specifications, meaning she can accommodate 18 guests. She enjoys the largest swimming pool on any luxury yacht, as well as two Helipads and an exquisitely furnished interior by Donald Starkey.

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M/Y Luna: The 115m Superyacht Has Finally Left Dubai

After a gruelling few years of legal battles, the 115m superyacht ‘Luna’ has finally left Dubai. In 2017, the vessel was at the centre of a prolific divorce settlement between Farkhad Akhmedov and his ex-wife Tatiana Akhmedova which would continue over the following years. Luna is now free, and has been heading up the Suez Canal to explore the Mediterranean. SEO

Luna’s Rocky History

Farkhad Akhmedov came into possession of Luna in 2014, after purchasing it from Roman Abramovich for US$360. In 2017, Akhmedov and his wife Tatiana entered into a legal dispute concerning their divorce. At this time, Luna was in Port Rashid, Dubai, for maintenance work. The superyacht was then under court order to remain in its current location whilst resolving the dispute. After many setbacks and obstacles, she is now back where she belongs, on the open water.

Luna’s Design

Luna is an explorer superyacht built by Lloyd Werft at their German shipyard. Her interior features a design by Donald Starkey Designs, whilst Newcruise provided their expertise to create her striking exterior. The vessel has room to accommodate up to 50 guests and 18 crew members over her five decks. Luna’s luxurious facilities include two helipads, an expansive beach club, and a spa with a steam bath, plunge pool and sauna.

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115-metre-explorer-yacht-luna-recently-completed-a-50-million-euro-refit

Luna: The story of the 115m explorer's €50m refit

After several years in the Port of Dubai, the 115 metre Luna has been spotted on the move, according to BOAT Pro's Global Fleet Tracker . As she sets sail for the Mediterranean, we look back at the multi-million dollar refit in 2014 that saw the transformation of this world cruiser.

Originally envisioned as a more elegant version of 113 metre Le Grand Bleu , Luna , when launched, made headlines for two reasons: the celebrity of her first owner, Roman Abramovich, and in more specialist press for that long, low aft deck that sacrificed interior volume for sun worship. That famous pool, the biggest ever seen on a superyacht at the time, is still jaw-dropping, especially when empty and its full scale is revealed.

As one of the world’s most famous explorer yachts, she had done remarkably little exploring since her debut in 2010, but that was set to change when Luna was purchased by new owners in 2014. They spent a season on board in the Med before releasing the yacht in October that year for an extensive refit that would wrap in her five-year survey.

Almost two years later, in 2016, BOAT International steps on board. The yacht's swimming pool is netted, the crew are busy washing the decks and superstructure, and canvas hides all the sunloungers, but the huge spaces that make Luna so special are impossible to cover up.

And even on a grey, overcast day, her hull absolutely pings: flawless, faired and painted a special new colour christened “Luna Blue”. It’s a marked difference. The yacht’s first owner wanted to reinforce her rugged aesthetic by making a show of her plate seams and welds, but giving her a shiny new coat was the biggest item on the to-do list when Luna was laid up at German Dry Docks in Bremerhaven, northern Germany, in late 2014. “The previous paint wasn’t very attractive,” says the owner’s representative. “Just a top coat over bare hull. Luna now has the most high-quality paint job to date on such a vessel. It’s a complete mirror finish.”

The work was done by local firm Thraki Yacht Painting and constitutes the biggest single change to the boat in its six-year life. It took 70-80 painters eight months to fill and fair more than 2,000 square metres of hull, while also refinishing Luna ’s superstructure. But first the hull was sandblasted to remove any remnants of the old paint.

“We then applied more than 20 tonnes of filler,” says Thraki’s MD Ritvan Metso. “This was followed by two epoxy primers, a show coat and top coat.” The result is an uninterrupted shine as you look down the hull, with no blemishes or movement in the finish. “This is what Luna was missing,” adds the owner’s rep with clear pride.

Frank Neubelt led the design team from German studio Newcruise in defining Luna ’s exterior lines. He calls it a “boy cool” look — tough but elegant. It was the first major motor yacht project worked on by the German designer and remains the biggest.

Outdoor life, obviously, was key to the design and, of all the proposals put in front of Luna ’s first owner, he was “most amazed by the idea to create a very open outer deck”, says the designer. “So we quit all the earlier concepts with lots of toys on board and I was free to create her style.”

The deck below might not be rammed with superyacht water toys but there is still plenty of room — in fact, more than you’d think. To port, two tender garages sit opposite a gym and behind all of this is Luna’s expansive beach club wrapping round a spa, with steam bath, plunge pool and sauna.

This whole area was changed extensively in the refit. Updated equipment from Technogym has been installed in Luna ’s superyacht gym , alongside new mirrored panels lining the length of the space. “Gym equipment keeps changing — and we only like the best,” says the owner’s rep. The glass means you can fold down the huge 12-metre shell door and look out over the water without anyone seeing you sweating inside.

Conversely, the platform means it’s possible to do morning routines outside, with the water lapping almost at your feet. A further shell door opens behind and Luna ’s transom door folds up, to create the feeling of a single, open, water-level space.

The teak throughout this area has been replaced, alongside a host of other cosmetic changes: new mosaic on the walls in the steam room, upgraded AV and a new pantry area to ease service. The sofa in the rearmost section of the beach club now faces backwards — with a view of the sea instead of a TV on the bulkhead, in place of which is now a beautiful fish-eye sculpture discovered in Greece on one of the yacht’s travels. “Who wants to see a huge TV in a beach club?” asks the rep. “ Luna is a boat to relax on! There are 80 other TVs on board.”

Included in the new sofa design are drawers for storing shoes, the idea being that you board via the bathing platform, sit on the sofa, put your shoes in the drawer… “and relax”, he adds. Luna ’s boarding steps have been modified, too: they’ve been opened up to allow guests to walk directly up from the tender, instead of being forced sideways, making it much safer, and easier for crew to assist guests.

Luna ’s owner and his family sometimes take breakfast at the beach club dinette to port, a space they’re already planning to change in the next big yard period by adding a large new shell door on the port side — bringing the number of major openings in this space to six — and 18 portholes in the transom, to give a view and let in light even underway.

Beyond the superyacht's beach club , the entire lower deck is dedicated to Luna ’s crew, who are well served with spacious cabins forward, all of which were upgraded with new upholstery, curtains and AV/IT. Further crew quarters are found on the deck below, but the main attraction here are the machinery spaces.

Big yachts such as Luna have large, impressive engine rooms, but this one stands apart, not just in the volume dedicated to housing the engines and electric motors, but in the polish applied to it. “It’s the most spotless engine room I’ve ever worked in,” reports chief engineer James Burden — the result of a fastidious owner who regularly visits the crew areas.

As a result, the chequerplate floor is polished once a week and you could shave in the cylinder heads. “We even painted the toolboxes the same colour as the engine to keep things neat,” he adds.

Luna ’s seven generators output a total of 15,000hp and they power electric motors coupled to each shaft. “Diesel electric, in terms of operating a ship, is great,” says the chief. “It’s less real estate taken up, it’s less vibration, it’s more economical, it’s more flexible for the owner and it’s more flexible for us to operate.”

She’s got massive power — designed to nudge Luna through shallow ice — and can run at her full speed of 21 knots and still have one generator offline. With all generators engaged and running at full revs, Luna could power a town of 25,000 people. In the yard, the shafts were taken out for survey and maintenance, and seals and bearings were replaced, while air-con was added in a number of the working areas to improve conditions, among a host of other jobs.

The main hot work happened in the living spaces decks above. The lounge fronting Luna ’s observation deck has always been a superb place to be when coming into a new port or anchorage, but it’s been made even better by an extended deck cut-out, creating an entirely new exterior seating area.

“You can now walk to both sides, relax or sleep on the sofa and use it for dining,” reveals the owner’s rep, who has spent considerable time on board Luna . “It was incredible being up there when coming into Cuba. The new exterior observation lounge was very useful.”

Other changes have been made to the rear of the bridge deck, with new extendable wind breaks installed to protect this main outdoor dining space when it’s blowing. The teak has been perfectly re-caulked all over the boat and the two helidecks are now clad in Future Teak from Bolidt, embellished with Luna ’s name and logo.

Donald Starkey was the original interior designer for Luna but joined the project when the yacht, which is managed by Y.CO , was only about 70 per cent complete at its build yard of Lloyd Werft . He worked hard to impose himself on a boat mostly built and won some concessions — extending headroom throughout the living spaces and adding a dining room, which wasn’t on the original GA.

“I did this by subdividing the upper deck lounge on the starboard side,” he says. “I separated the lounge and dining room by a wall incorporating a fireplace, which can be appreciated from both sides.” The stone-panelled finish to this unit is contextual in an interior that leans heavily to the natural.

“My intention was to try and create an elegant but calm feeling, away from the hard-edged traditional glossy interiors,” he says. This extended to sourcing oak panels in Germany cut from large logs that could be sliced into 70cm veneers, to avoid too many joints. The panels were then wire-brushed to expose the deeper grain and stained pale.

Starkey’s original intention had been to lay the oak floor using antique 17th century beams, but was dissuaded by concerns about splintering and combustibility. Modern oak was used instead and “aged” to create the same effect, which extends throughout Luna and grounds the entire design.

The floor, it should be noted, is also an absolute pleasure to walk on. One of the quirkier design flourishes involves the main deck guest corridor on Luna , with its arched separations, which not only add visual interest to an otherwise straight corridor but also serve to hide watertight bulkhead divisions.

Six years on and Starkey’s interior is still pristine, thanks to an owner with a meticulous eye for imperfections and a crew dedicated to making sure there aren’t any. Some updating was done in Luna ’s refit period, including the addition of new fabrics in the corridors and updates to all cabins, but the soul of Starkey’s design is very much intact.

And while the owner gets the pick of those cabins, with its huge views and access to a private terrace forward, it’s the guests that get the easiest access to Luna ’s headline feature, through the guest corridor on the main deck that leads straight out on to the aft deck. It’s a proper playground and perfect for the family’s children to run around, in complete safety.

A new raised section of this deck, just aft of the pool, was added in Luna’s refit and helps create distinction on the massive platform. The area can be tented and is a great spot for “tea and fruit in the afternoon”, says the rep.

Throughout Luna ’s 14-month refit, around 130 jobs were completed, ranging from the tiny (the installation of new wine fridges) to the tricky (the separation of the ballast tank system) but, taken as a whole, they have managed to improve on a classic. Until now few people have ever seen inside Luna and, as for being featured in a magazine, forget it. But finally here’s proof of her pedigree — Luna has risen.

First published in the November 2016 edition of BOAT International

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By SuperyachtNews 02 Apr 2019

115m MY 'Luna' released from Dubai

The saga for the akhmedov fortune has taken another turn….

The Luna saga, which saw the 115m Lloyd Werft-built superyacht seized in Dubai last year as a result of an acrimonious divorce battle between Farkhad Akhmedov and his British wife Tatiana Akhmedov, has taken a new turn with an appeals court in Dubai determining that the seizure of the vessel, which had been enforced by a freezing order on the part of the British courts, does not hold sway in the Emirates.

The couple, who married in 1993, have been part of a divorce battle that is considered to have yielded the largest divorce settlement in British history, with the British courts ruling in 2016 that Ms Akhmedov was owed £453 million for her ‘equal contributions to the welfare of the family’.

The judgement further stated that Mr Akhmedov had attempted to ring-fence a number of assets from the UK courts, including the superyacht Luna, thereby restricting his wife’s access to his global assets.

In 2017, Luna was detained by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts while she was undergoing maintenance in Port Rashid, as a London court sought to enforce the pay-out.

In November 2018, a new development saw judges in Dubai rule that a commercial court in the Emirati state had no requirement to uphold a freezing order enforced by a UK court, as well as claiming that the vessel belonged to Mr Akhmedov by right. Last week, following a battle in the UAE appeals court, it was, once again, determined that the British freezing order need not be upheld by the UAE commercial courts.

Given the nature of the divorce proceedings, which has seen the use of, supposedly, falsified divorce documents on the part of Mr Akhmedov and the employ of Baroness Fiona Shackleton, one of the world’s most acclaimed divorce lawyers, on the part of Mrs Akhmedov, it is more than likely that there is plenty more to come in the fight for Luna and the Akhmedov fortune.

However, in the meantime, Mr Akhmedov has use of the vessel again.

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The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

A $353 mn luxury superyacht, luna, is at the heart of london’s biggest divorce.

The Luna, which - with its 50-member crew - has been languishing at its Dubai berth for more than two years.

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Mike Lynch yacht sinking latest: Manslaughter probe to look at crew responsibility as tributes paid to Hannah

LIVE – Updated at 11:23

A manslaughter investigation has been launched following the deaths of seven people onboard the Bayesian superyacht which sank off the coast of Sicily .

Italian public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, from nearby town Termini Imerese, said his office h as opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck . No specific suspects have been named, so far.

At a press conference, prosecutors were asked about the Bayesian crew’s responsibilities considering all but one survived.

Prosecutors said they were “concentrating on this particular aspect”.

They want to “discover how much they knew and to what extent all the people [passengers] were warned”.

It comes as tributes have poured in for Hannah Lynch, who died with her father on the superyacht .

Sasha Murray, chief stewardess of the Bayesian who is understood to have been rescued from the yacht described Hannah as a “diamond in a sea of stars”.

“What most people may not have seen was the extraordinarily strong, deep and loving relationship she shared with her parents, whom she adored more than anything,” she added.

Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died on the boat.

Prosecutor says likely Bayesian victims tried to escape sinking superyacht

A manslaughter investigation has been opened into the deaths
Key takeaways from the press conference
Five bodies were found in same cabin, prosecution says

A diver who searched the wreck of the Bayesian for missing passengers has spoken of his team’s strong emotional reaction to recovering the body of Hannah Lynch during the complex operation.

“Finding bodies underwater is our job, you get used to it and keep your emotions under control, but locating the girl was different — it was an emotional moment because she was so young,” Fabio Paoletti, a member of the Italian firefighters’ diving team told The Sunday Times .

He added: “We got into a large room, but I couldn’t say how large because I couldn’t see the walls. That led to a staircase down to a narrow corridor linking to the cabins.

“Entering the Bayesian we needed to check for any obstacles that could impede our exit, which was crucial since you had such little time to get out.

“That means looking for a door or lid that could swing open or a curtain that could get in your way. You clear the path.”

Tributes to a ‘brave’ and ‘selfless’ friend who died on Bayesian

Friends of Recaldo “Rick” Thomas have paid tribute to their ‘brave’ and ‘selfless’ friend who was found in the water near the superyacht Bayesian.

“Rick could have jumped off and survived, I have no doubt about that. But he wouldn’t have left people on board and just swum away,” his friend Gareth Williams told The Sunday Times .

“I read that the first mate was quite young, Rick would have said to him, ‘Get off the boat, man, I am here, I got this.’ That’s just who he was.”

He added: “He had this infectious smile and a sultry, baritone voice. He was the type of person you could sit in a room with — no TV, no music playing, and just be. You didn’t have to say a word. You just enjoy his company.”

Tribute to ‘genius’ storyteller Mike Lynch

Susannah Gurdun, a close family friend of the Lynch’s from Suffolk, shared a series of heartfelt stories about Mike Lynch and who he was beyond being one of Britain’s biggest tech moguls.

Ms Gurdun told of his “thrilling ability” to explain difficult and complicated concepts in a way people could easily understand.

His wife, Angela Bacares, and his daughters were telling Ms Gurdun of his ability to “conjure beautiful stories out of thin air”.

The following evening, Mr Lynch told a story as the dinner plates were cleared about a hero, who was the same age as Ms Gurdun’s son, embarking on adventures in search of treasure. She called it “magical”.

She added that she was not surprised to learn that Hannah had begun showing “serious literary promise”.

Mapped: Where did the Bayesian sink?

Giant masts, moon pools and pole explorer pods: how the world of yachts got supersized.

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It is probable offences were committed, prosecutor says

Public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said he thought it was “probable that offences were committed” surrounding the sinking of the yacht.

He told reporters that the sinking could have been the responsibility of the captain, crew, individuals in charge of supervision, the ship-builder, or others.

He added: “We will establish each element’s responsibility – that will be done by the inquiry, so we can’t do that prematurely.

“For me, it is probable that offences were committed – that it could be a case of manslaughter – but we can only establish that if you give us the time to investigate.

“Media timing is completely different from that of a prosecutor. We need a minimum amount of time to come to a proper scientific conclusion.”

Recap: post-mortem examinations yet to be carried out

No information has yet been gleaned from an examination of the seven people who died, the prosecutor of the case has said.

In response to a question about whether post-mortem examinations have been carried out, Raffaele Cammarano told a press conference in Italy: “There are a whole number of preliminary stages to go through before the autopsies.”

The yacht had been hit by a downburst and the the Italian officials said they would be looking at how it could affect one vehicle and not other nearby vessels, according to the translation of the conference.

The inquiry is currently an Italian affair with local involvement, but chief prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said: “I cannot tell you with any certainty that the inquiry will be exclusively Italian.”

He added: “There will be developments, I’m sure, on that score.”

Mike Lynch net worth: How the billionaire made his money

Full report: Manslaughter investigation launched after Mike Lynch’s Bayesian superyacht sinks

Italian public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, from nearby town Termini Imerese, said his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck . No specific suspects have been named, so far.

Read the full report below:

Manslaughter investigation launched after Mike Lynch’s Bayesian superyacht sinks

Hannah was ‘a diamond in a sea of stars’ who vowed to save her parents

The daughter of tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who died with her father on the luxury superyacht Bayesian, has been described as a “diamond in a sea of stars” by a survivor from the tragedy.

Sasha Murray, chief stewardess of the Bayesian who is understood to have been rescued from the yacht, said: “Those who knew her will know that Hannah was a diamond in a sea of stars. Bright, beautiful and always shining.

“What most people may not have seen was the extraordinarily strong, deep and loving relationship she shared with her parents, whom she adored more than anything.

“While swimming with them she often said, if anything ever happened she would save them.

“I have no doubt that the Irish , Latina fire that burns in her soul kept that spirited determination alive.”

Who was on the Bayesian? How Mike Lynch’s inner circle celebrated end of billionaire’s 13 year court battle

Who was on Bayesian and how they were celebrating end of Mike Lynch’s court battles

What is a 'downburst'?

Officials said the superyacht had been hit by a downburst and the Italian officials said they would be looking at how it could affect one vehicle and not other nearby vessels, according to the translation of the conference.

A downburst is an intense burst of wind at ground level emenating from the strong downdraft of a thunderstorm; the wind often blows radially from a point source, as opposed to the rotating winds associated with a tornado.

Downbursts usually last just a few minutes, and can be particularly dangerous for aviation.

They have been blamed for a number of air crashes over the years, although the risk tends to be well forecast by meteorologists allowing pilots to avoid them.

Recap: Prosecutor demands time to assess whether manslaughter charges can be brought

Ambrogio Cartosio, chief prosecutor of Termini Imeres, told a press conference he thought it was “probable that offences were committed” over the seven deaths during the sinking of the Bayesian.

He said officials the will examine whether the captain, crew, individuals in charge of supervision, the ship-builder, or others could bear responsibility over the deaths.

“We will establish each element’s responsibility - that will be done by the inquiry, so we can’t do that prematurely.

“For me, it is probable that offences were committed - that it could be a case of manslaughter - but we can only establish that if you give us the time to investigate.”

Experts say recovery of Bayesian could take two months

Raffaele Macauda, deputy commander of the Palermo coastguard, told the media it was “difficult” getting into the yacht’s cabins and it required “very lengthy periods to remove obstacles” through them.

Mr Macauda said the coastguard is conducting in-depth environmental monitoring.

He adds that the owner of the Bayesian has expressed an interest in recovering the vessel from the sea floor, but the timing of this was uncertain.

Some experts have estimated it could take eight weeks to recover the yacht.

Teenager who died in superyacht tragedy was ‘a diamond in a sea of stars’ who vowed to save her parents

Teenager who died in superyacht tragedy was ‘a diamond in a sea of stars’

Next step: Pulling the Bayesian out of the sea ‘complex and costly'

The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts who say a boat like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and in any case should not have sunk as quickly as it did.

Pulling the Bayesian out of the sea will help investigators determine what happened, but the operation is likely to be complex and costly. The wreck is lying apparently intact on its side at a depth of 50 metres (164 feet).“It’s in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it,” Cartosio said, adding “they have assured their full cooperation”.

Giovanni Costantino , CEO of The Italian Sea Group which owns Perini, told Reuters this week the shipwreck was the result of a string of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” made by the crew, and ruled out any design or construction failings.

No tornado alert before sinking - coastguard say

Raffaele Macauda, deputy commander of the Palermo coastguard, said there was no alert of a tornado at the time of the sinking on Monday morning.

Mr Macauda told a press conference: “Given that the conditions were such, there wasn’t anything to suggest there could be an extreme situation arising.

“There are vessels that can monitor, after all, these events and one would have thought that the captain had taken precautions.”

Deputy Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano told journalists the Italian Air Force had confirmed the sinking was most likely caused by a downburst which are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground.

Officials will look into the safety equipment on the sunken vessel.

Mr Cammarano was asked about whether there is a black box and if the hatches were left open.

He said investigators do not have exact information about the black box and that the first phase of the inquiry will look into it.

Captain and other survivors questioned after Bayesian tragedy

The captain James Cutfield and the other survivors have been questioned this week by authorities. None of them have commented publicly on how the ship went down.

Raffaele Cammarano, another prosecutor speaking at the same news conference, said that when authorities questioned Cutfield he had been “extremely cooperative”.

Lynch’s pay tribute to father and daughter lost on Bayesian

Hannah Lynch’s sister Esme described her as “the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister”.

Paying tribute, she said: “Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me.

“She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me.

“And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends, and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals.

“She is my little angel, my star.”

A spokesperson for the Lynch family said: “The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends.

“Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy.

“They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue.

“Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.”

Diver describes tragic conditions aboard the Bayesian wreck

A diver described the emotional moment the final body was pulled from the wreckage of the Bayesian when they all stopped to applaud as Hannah Lynch made it to shore.

Inspector Vincenzo Nardoni, a diver drafted in from the fire brigade’s unit in Naples, said: “It was an emotional liberation, a relief of stress.

“Because stress is our daily bread. We work on call and in emergencies, and we intervene immediately. So stress is our baggage, is what we bring with us.”

He added “We had to revise the scene from a different angle from the way we’d normally see it, and that made everything more difficult.’

“We entered the confined spaces, having already performed evaluations on the safe point to enter inside the yacht. We found the safest spot and got inside from there.

“But inside it was a very confusing place, with wardrobes and furniture whirling all around us, and lots of mirrors reflecting back our lights at us.

“The bodies were all wedged in tight spots, with furniture on top or beside them. They were all stuck there.”

Recap: Bayesian crew allowed to leave Sicily

Chief prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Ambrogio Cartosio, said his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck at a press conference.

Asked whether the crew will remain in Sicily, Mr Cartosio said: “There’s no obligation, but they should be available for the investigation.”

Authroties still have questions to ask the captain but that they cannot keep people in the country under Italian law.

Raffaele Cammarano added his officials were going to give the crew alcohol and drug testing.

He stressed no individuals were yet under investigation.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was among seven people who died after the luxury superyacht Bayesian sank off the coast of Sicily early on Monday morning

The 59-year-old is known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy Corporation and had been in the headlines after he was cleared of charges in a high-profile fraud case.

But how did the “British Bill Gates” earn his fortune?

Final moments of Bayesian victims revealed

The final moments of the remaining victims of the Bayesian disaster have been revealed in a press conference earlier today.

Local prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said the meteorological event that hit the vessel was most likely a “downburst”, a very strong downward wind that is an intense but relatively frequent event at sea, rather than a water spout which involves rotating winds like a whirlwind or tornado.

He said that the passengers were all probably asleep at the time of the storm which was why they failed to escape.

Bentivoglio Fiandra, chief of Palermo’s fire brigade and part of the divers’ rescue team, explained that the Bayesian sank stern-first and then rolled onto its right side.

“As a result, the victims sought refuge on the left side of the boat, where the last air pockets remained as the vessel was sinking,” he said.

The divers found five bodies in the first cabin on the left and one, Hannah Lynch’s, in the third cabin on the left.

Inspector Vincenzo Nardoni, a diver drafted in from the fire brigade’s unit in Naples: “The bodies were all wedged in tight spots, with furniture on top or beside them. They were all stuck there.”

According to the Telegraph, Raffaele Cammarano, one of two prosecutors leading the case, told a press conference earlier: “There can be no certainty about the behaviour of the passengers on board, at the moment.

“It is probable they tried to escape but we have no real details about that, that will emerge in the course of the inquiry.”

A manslaughter investigation has been launched following the death of seven people onboard the Bayesian superyacht which sank off the coast of Sicily .

Italian public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio, from nearby town Termini Imerese, said his office has opened an initial investigation into manslaughter and negligent shipwreck . No specific suspects have been named.

British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among those who died after the yacht sank near Porticello around 5am local time on Monday.

My colleague Jabed Ahmed reports:

The following evening, Mr Lynch told a story as the dinner plates were cleared about a hero, who was the same age as Ms Gurdun’s son, embarking on adventures in search of treasure.

She called it “magical”.

“It is beyond tragic that we will never know where her own particular brilliance might have led… but I still feel blessed to have shared that time with them in Spain,” she said.

“Not just because I witnessed Mike’s incredible storytelling; but because I was given a chance of understanding what that moment said about all four of them as a united vibrant loving family.

“To those of us who knew him in that way, this family achievement – in partnership with Angela – was every bit as special and beautiful as the ones he pulled off in the world of tech and science.

“Perhaps even more so – in that he did it all simultaneously.

“He was an extraordinary human being and it was – truly – a privilege to have known him.”

Tragic Hannah said she would save parents if they ever got in trouble swimming

The chief stewardess of the tragic Beysian superyacht, has paid tribute to Hannah Lynch, 18, after her body was recovered from the wreck.

Sasha Murray, released a statement, saying: “Those who knew her will know that Hannah was a diamond in a sea of stars. Bright, beautiful and always shining.

“While swimming with them she often said, if anything ever happened she would save them. I have no doubt that the Irish, Latina fire that burns in her soul kept that spirited determination alive.”

Timeline of the Bayesian luxury yacht disaster in Sicily: Monday 19 - Wednesday 21 August

Monday 19 August

The Bayesian yacht, flying a British flag, sinks at around 5am local time when the area was hit by a tornado.

Fifteen people are rescued from the 55m (180ft) vessel – including a mother and baby – but another seven remain missing.

A body, believed to be that of a chef on the boat, is later found near the wreck.

Tuesday 20 August

The search continues for the six tourists missing.

It is reported that among those missing are Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Police divers try to reach the hull of the ship, resting at a depth of 50 metres.

Italy’s fire brigade Vigili del Fuoco say early inspections of the wreck were “unsuccessful” because of limited access to the bridge and furniture obstructing passages.

Wednesday 21 August

The search for the six people unaccounted for enters a third day, with crews carrying out inspections of the yacht’s internal hull.

A team of four British inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) arrive in Porticello to look at the site of the sinking.

Five bodies are found inside the yacht on Wednesday afternoon. Only four of them are brought to shore.

Body bags are seen being taken to the port of Porticello in the afternoon where dozens of emergency services staff wait.

Watch: Final moments of seven who died in Bayesian tragedy revealed by fire service boss

Final moments of seven who died in Bayesian tragedy revealed by fire service boss

How long will it take to recover the sailing vessel?

Mr Macauda could not confirm how long it would take to retrieve the shipwreck of the sunken yacht.

“Everything depends on the availability of the owners and the timeframe of the retrieval of the wreck and of course all that has to be submitted to the port authorities and in parallel of course there will be the inquiry results and it’s only really then that we will be able to authorise the operation,” he said, according to a BBC translation.

“I can’t say, like some experts who have already spoken on the subject, that it will be eight weeks.”

He made clear that the owners will bear the full cost of retrieval, although he could not estimate the figure.

Why were nearby vessels not similarly affected?

Another yacht, the Sir Robert BP, was about 150 to 200 metres from the Bayesian when extreme weather hit.

Its crew helped to rescue 15 people from the stricken vessel.

Italian officials said they would be looking at how the downburst could affect one vehicle and not other nearby vessels.

Why did the boat sink?

The vessel had been deemed “unsinkable” by its manufacturer – Italian shipyard Perini Navi.

The Bayesian was hit by a downburst, according to Mr Cammarano, which are powerful winds that descend from a thunderstorm and spread out quickly once they hit the ground.

Pictured: Bayesian superyacht

Watch: who is mike lynch, the billionaire tech entrepreneur.

Why were several of the passengers in one cabin?

The press conference heard several bodies onboard the sunken yacht were found in a single cabin which was not theirs.

Mr Cammarano said investigators currently do not know the reason for them being discovered in the same cabin.

The chief of the Palermo fire service, Bentivoglio Fiandra, said the yacht pinned to the right and suggested people tried to go on the other side, taking refuge in cabins in the higher part of the wreck.

Why weren’t passengers who remained on board the vessel warned about escaping from the yacht?

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Raffaele Cammarano, suggested that some passengers may have been asleep when others were awake.

Asked why they were not woken up or alerted, he said that is something investigators are trying to work out from the statements of the survivors.

He called it an “essential” part of the inquiry.

Video: Italian prosecutor announces manslaughter investigation over Mike Lynch yacht sinking

Italian prosecutor announces manslaughter investigation over Mike Lynch yacht sinking

Uncertainty over how long it will take to retrieve shipwreck, officials say

Key questions for investigators of the Bayesian yacht tragedy in Sicily

What weather warnings was the Bayesian alerted to?

Passengers were asleep and therefore unable to escape, prosecutors say

The passengers who died were probably asleep, prosecutors said, and this is the reason they failed to escape.

Raffaele Cammarano, the prosecutor of the case, suggested “they were asleep whereas the others weren’t”.

He was asked if there was anyone at the time available to alert them.

Mr Cammarano said: “That is precisely what we are trying to ascertain from the statements made during the interrogation of the survivors – an essential point in the inquiry obviously.”

Watch: Mike Lynch’s friend mourns ‘unbelievably tragic’ death after fraud trial acquittal

Prosecutor says bayesian incident is a ‘very grave tragedy'.

A top prosecutor in Sicily outlined the order in which the bodies of six people who had been missing following the yacht sinking were retrieved, calling the incident a “very grave tragedy”.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, public prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said: “These six persons who tried desperately to save themselves were finally retrieved.

“First of all, four of them. Jonathan Bloomer the banker, Christopher Morvillo the lawyer, and all four of them were retrieved from inside the yacht which was 50 metres down.

“Then, later, the other two were also retrieved.

“Michael Lynch on the 23rd, yesterday, and then the 18-year-old daughter of Michael Lynch, Hannah, was found yesterday morning.

“It is a very grave tragedy and in order to reduce the dimensions of the tragedy, we have called upon the co-operation of the firefighters, firefighting divers, who have shown incredible courage and skill, who carried out a very difficult mission indeed and have allowed us to inspect properly the wreck for bodies.”

ICYMI: Bodies were recovered from cabins on the left side of the yacht

The bodies of six people were recovered from cabins on the left side of the yacht after it had sunk, the chief of the Palermo fire service said.

Girolamo Bentivoglio said specialised divers attempting to retrieve the bodies had to deal with “very little visibility due to the weather conditions” and were called in from across the country as part of a search-and-rescue operation which involved “some 70 people” each day.

He added: “The yacht obviously pinned to the right and obviously the (people) tried to go on the other side and then took refuge in their cabins.

“We found four or five bodies in the cabin on the left and there was another one in the third cabin on the left too, and obviously they were in the higher part of the wreck.

“Obviously, emergency procedures were implemented by the divers and obviously we installed cameras and involved further divers.

“And we involved obviously helicopter services and other surveillance cameras.”

Watch: Manslaughter investigation launched into Mike Lynch yacht deaths

Daughter of mike lynch recovered from yacht as family ‘devastated’ after five-day search.

Mike Lynch’s daughter recovered as family ‘devastated’ after five-day search

No autopsies have been carried out yet

It is ‘probable’ that offences were committed, prosecutor says, italian officials currently cannot say when the first distress signal was launched.

Maritime director of western Sicily Rear Admiral Raffaele Macauda, said: “It is normal when there is imminent danger to send distress signals – that is what alerted the port authorities to come to the scene.

“It may be that there was an error in manipulation given the speed of events and it meant that an emergency distress signal was not launched properly or at the right time.

“We can’t reconstruct all these details, I’m afraid at the moment.

“We can’t say exactly at what time the first distress signal was launched.”

He also said “the owners will bear the full cost of the retrieval” of the wreckage and could not estimate how much it would cost.

The passengers who died were probably asleep, prosecutors said, and this is the reason they failed to escape.

We have no idea why five bodies were found in same cabin, prosecution says

All of the bodies onboard the sunken yacht were found in a single cabin which “was not theirs”, a prosecutor told reporters.

Prosecutor Raffaele Cammarano said, through a translation provided by the BBC: “The bodies were found in a cabin which was not theirs but this doesn’t give us any kind of certainty about what happened.

“We have no idea of the reasons for their all being found in the same cabin.”

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Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," argues Giovanni Costantino, who owns the firm that built the vessel in 2008

Giovanni Costantino — who is the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the Bayesian in 2008 — blames an "endless chain of errors" for the luxury yacht’s sinking on Monday, Aug. 19
"Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here," Constantino told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera of the storm the boat was caught in
"An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO claimed to the outlet

The sinking of the luxury Bayesian yacht off the coast of Sicily this week resulted from an "endless chain of errors" by the crew, the ship maker's CEO is speculating.

"This episode sounds like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact," Giovanni Costantino — who leads The Italian Sea Group, the company that now owns Perini Navi, which built the Bayesian in 2008 — said, according to CNN .

While speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera , Costantino said he believes those on board should not have been in their cabins, as he claims they were, when the Bayesian sank in the early hours of Monday, Aug. 19.

Many details of why the yacht went into the water so quickly remain unclear and it's not yet known what the passengers and crew were doing before tragedy struck.

PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The 183-foot British vessel sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday after a "violent storm" while near Porticello, the Italian coast guard said in a statement that was previously obtained by PEOPLE.

"Everything that has been done reveals a very long sum of errors. The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming disturbance?" Costantino said in his interview, translated from Italian.

"The passengers reported an absurd thing, namely that the storm came unexpected, suddenly. It's not true. Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here. Nothing came suddenly ... Ask yourself, why was no fisherman from Porticello out that night? A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The disturbance was fully readable in all the weather charts. One could not not know," he argued.

"An unsinkable ship but from the crew an endless chain of errors," the CEO asserted.

The coast guard has said 22 people were aboard the Bayesian when it sank — 12 passengers and 10 crew — and that 15 of those were subsequently rescued.

The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered nearby.

ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty

Costantino's comments came as it was reported that five bodies had been found in the search for the missing six people as of Wednesday, Aug. 21, a source close to the rescue operations confirmed to PEOPLE. Authorities have said that their work is ongoing.

An Italian government official, Massimo Mariani, reportedly named one of the dead as British tech tycoon Mike Lynch . The other bodies have not yet been publicly identified by authorities.

Lynch was celebrating with family and friends on the yacht following his acquittal in a fraud trial in June, PEOPLE previously reported.

Costantino offered his view of how the tragedy could have been avoided: "To begin with, in a weather alert situation it was inappropriate to have, as I read, a party. Not that evening. The hull and deck needed to be secured by closing all doors and hatches, after putting the guests at the ship's meeting point as per emergency procedure. Then start the engines and pull up the anchor or release it automatically, put the bow to the wind and lower the keel.

"The next morning they would have departed with zero damage."

Jonathan Brady/PA Images via Getty

When discussing whether the crew were at fault, Costantino reiterated to the Italian outlet that he believes "errors were made."

"A series of activities should have been done to avoid finding oneself in that situation," he said. "I as the ship's captain would have moved, but even if for some reason I had to stay there, I would have managed those weather conditions which then, let's face it, weren't so crazy."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Costantino contended that there would have been "a zero risk if the correct maneuvers had been made and if situations that compromised the ship's stability had not occurred," adding to the newspaper that reports that the boat went down in seconds is "nonsense." He believes the yacht would have "went down" after water "started to enter" within "six minutes."

The remaining missing Bayesian passengers are Lynch's daughter Hannah as well as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy , and New York City-based lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda , sources have said.

Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was among those rescued, PEOPLE previously reported.

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Manslaughter probe announced in Sicily yacht wreck that killed 7

Italian authorities are opening an investigation into whether the sinking of the luxury yacht Bayesian, which killed seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, was manslaughter.

Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said Saturday that the investigation is not targeting specific individuals so far, but that it was "plausible" that the crimes of manslaughter or causing a shipwreck through negligence were committed.

The Bayesian went down off the port of Porticello, near Sicily's capital of Palermo, after an unexpected storm early Monday morning. Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife and the owner of the yacht Angela Bacares, were rescued from the water.

A frantic search of the water and the sunken vessel ultimately recovered the bodies of seven people over the next few days: Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; lawyer Christopher Morvillo, an American, and his wife Neda Morvillo; Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer; and Recaldo Thomas, who was the ship's chef. Lynch had recently been acquitted in a fraud trial in the U.S.; Christopher Morvillo was one of his lawyers and Jonathan Bloomer served as a character witness on Lynch's behalf.

Investigation underway to find out how yacht sank

Investigators will pull the sunken ship from the sea bottom, where it is lying on its side about 160 feet down.

"It's in the interests of the owners and managers of the ship to salvage it," Cartosio said, adding that it's not out of the question for the investigation to shift to focus on a person.

The catastrophe has puzzled naval experts, who say the yacht should have withstood a storm of this magnitude. No other boats in the area reported damage from the storm.

Survivors, including the Bayesian's captain James Cutfield, have been questioned by authorities about what happened on the ship, but haven't yet spoken publicly. Cutfield was "extremely cooperative," Raffaele Cammarano, another prosecutor, said Saturday.

A maritime legal expert told USA TODAY the disaster could lead to lawsuits and possible criminal charges against Cutfield. Mitchell Stoller, a maritime expert witness and captain, said it was Cutfield's duty to monitor weather and prepare to maneuver the boat through rough waters instead of staying anchored. Italian authorities have said the Bayesian was likely anchored before the disaster. It's not clear if Cutfield has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf, and messages seeking comment to a Facebook profile appearing to belong to him went unreturned on Friday.

WHY DID THE BAYESIAN SINK? Investigators seek answers to why the luxury superyacht sank in storm

"Indescribable, unreasonable errors" by the crew, not issues with the boat's design, led to its sinking, Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns Perini, told Reuters.

Cammarano said the passengers were likely asleep when the storm hit, which could be why several were unable to escape. The bodies of most were found on the left side of the boat, where they may have gone to try and find pockets of air as it sank, Girolamo Bentivoglio Fiandra of Palermo's Fire Brigade said.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sicily yacht wreck manslaughter probe announced

Bodies of Autonomy founder Mike Lynch and his daughter recovered from sunken Bayesian yacht

Mike Lynch, the U.K. investor and founder of IT company Autonomy, has been identified as one of two bodies recovered from the Bayesian, the yacht that sunk off the coast of Sicily early Monday, according to several reports coming out of the country that cite the chief of Civil Protection, Salvo Cocina. The boat, registered to Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, quickly capsized in the early hours of Monday after it was struck by a tornado-like water column. In a tragic coincidence, Chamberlain was hit by a car last Saturday and died of his wounds earlier this week.

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Who Was on the Sunken Yacht? Tech Mogul Mike Lynch, His Family and Friends.

Mr. Lynch, the former chief executive of the software firm Autonomy, who was acquitted on fraud charges in June, was with friends and family when the yacht went down in a severe storm.

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Mike Lynch, in a suit and carrying a leather briefcase, is walking toward a building.

By Michael J. de la Merced

Michael de la Merced reported on Mike Lynch’s career and legal battles over the course of 13 years across two continents.

A cruise on the Mediterranean Sea aboard a superyacht was supposed to be a celebratory event for the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch , who was acquitted in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company, Autonomy, to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

Instead, it turned into a disaster after the yacht, a 180-foot boat called the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily in a violent storm. Of the 22 people aboard, 15 were rescued and seven others died . Search operations ended on Friday after the final body was recovered from the site of the sunken yacht .

Here’s what we know about the passengers.

Mike Lynch and his family

Mr. Lynch, 59, is a British software entrepreneur who had once been described as his country’s Bill Gates. He founded the software firm Autonomy, which analyzed clients’ unorganized data, and turned it into one of the most prominent British technology companies of its time. He became a widely known corporate leader, who advised David Cameron, the British prime minister at the time, and joined the board of the BBC.

In 2011, Mr. Lynch sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion, which was far above its market value, earning him hundreds of millions. But HP investors almost immediately soured on the transaction, and the American tech giant quickly fired its chief executive — and then Mr. Lynch.

HP later accused Mr. Lynch of misleading it about the state of Autonomy’s business, setting off a decade-long legal ordeal for the British executive, who denied the accusations. U.S. prosecutors charged him and other executives with fraud, and Autonomy’s chief financial officer was convicted in 2018.

Despite appeals to the British government, Mr. Lynch was extradited to the United States last year and was confined to a townhouse in San Francisco ahead of his criminal trial, which began in March. Facing the possibility of decades in prison if convicted, Mr. Lynch and another colleague were instead acquitted of all charges.

An official in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, said on Thursday that Mr. Lynch’s body had been recovered. His wife, Angela Bacares, 57, accompanied him on the yacht, and she was rescued on Monday when it sank. She was a consistent presence at his trial in the United States. Records show that she controlled Revtom, the company listed as the owner of the Bayesian.

The body of Hannah Lynch , Mr. Lynch and Ms. Bacares’s 18-year-old daughter, was thought to be recovered on Friday.

The other guests

Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chair of Morgan Stanley’s international arm and the chairman of Hiscox, an insurance provider that trades on the London Stock Exchange, was on the yacht when it sank, along with his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71. Their bodies are thought to be among those recovered, but Italian authorities have not identified them.

Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a New York-based partner at the international law firm Clifford Chance, was also on the yacht. A former federal prosecutor who comes from a family of prominent lawyers, Mr. Morvillo represented Mr. Lynch during his criminal trial in San Francisco. His wife, Neda, 57, was with him on the yacht. Their bodies are also assumed to be among those recovered.

“We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” a representative of Clifford Chance said in a statement.

Surviving passengers rescued from the yacht include Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Mr. Lynch’s venture firm, Invoke Capital; Ms. Golunski’s husband, James Emslie; and their one-year-old daughter Sophie. Also rescued were Ayla Ronald, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, and her partner, Matthew Fletcher.

The yacht had a crew of 10, and nine were rescued. The body of the chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered from the water, the Sicilian Civil Protection Department said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting, and Kitty Bennett and Susan Campbell Beachy contributed research.

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Superyacht maker's CEO: Bayesian's crew made an 'incredible mistake'

The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was recovered Thursday from his family's superyacht that sank off the coast of Italy after it encountered a sudden and powerful storm, authorities said.

After four bodies were recovered from the wreck Wednesday, Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, remains the only person unaccounted for, Massimo Mariani, of Italy's interior ministry, told Reuters. Her body may have been swept out to sea, Mariani said.

It could take divers more time to find her body because of the difficulties of accessing the sunken ship more than 160 feet down, said Luca Cari, a fire brigade spokesperson. Rescuers faced a challenging task in scouring extremely deep and narrow spaces around the boat.

Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of Italian ship manufacturer Perini, which made the ship in 2008, told Reuters on Thursday, "The boat suffered a series of indescribable, unreasonable errors."

He said the crew made an "incredible mistake" in not preparing for the storm, even though it was announced in a shipping forecast earlier. "This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance," he said.

Lynch, 59, was best known as the co-founder of Britain’s largest enterprise software, Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He had invited his friends on the yacht to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges related to the sale of Autonomy.

The Bayesian, a 184-feet-long British-registered sailboat, went down just before sunrise Monday off the coast of Porticello, near Palermo, where it was anchored when a strong storm swept across the area. Of the 22 passengers and crew members on board, 15, including Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, were pulled from the water Monday, and several were hospitalized. Divers then recovered the body of Ricardo Thomas, the yacht's chef, near the ship.

Who were among the missing?

An exhaustive search ensued for six missing people: Lynch and his daughter; Judy and Jonathan Bloomer, a non-executive chair of Morgan Stanley International; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo.

Jonathan Bloomer was a character witness at Lynch’s fraud trial, and Chris Morvillo, an American citizen, was part of the team that represented Lynch.

Hannah, the younger of Lynch's two daughters, was preparing to study English literature at Oxford University, according to the Sunday Times.

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Investigation opened into the tragedy

Local prosecutors have opened an investigation into the disaster and will hold a press conference on Saturday.

Costantino said there were no errors in the ship's construction or design. "It went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell," he said.

The ship, owned by Lynch's wife, Bacares, was constructed in accordance with international maritime standards and commercially certified by the U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency, according to Matthew Schanck, chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council. It was refitted for the second time in 2020.

Experts have pointed to a waterspout, a tornado over the water that can travel up to 120 mph, that formed during the storm, as well as the weight of the ship's mast, one of the largest in the world, as possible factors in its sinking.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci , USA TODAY ; Reuters

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Santiago Maza’s ‘State of Silence,’ Produced by Diego Luna, Wins Top Award at Sanfic

“State of Silence,” (“Estado de Silencio”), the fourth doc feature by Mexico’s Santiago Maza (“The Thunder Feast”), a passion project of producer Diego Luna at Mexico-based label La Corriente del Golfo where he partners with Gael García Bernal, has walked off with a coveted best feature award at this year’s Sanfic Festival in Santiago de Chile.

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“Water Never Hurt,” from Argentina’s Ana Clara Bustelo, and “Concert for a Single Voice,” directed by Peru’s Alejandra Carpio, won double in Sanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Work in Progress, its industry centerpiece.

‘State of Silence’: What Marks It Apart

Doc features have been made before on Mexico’s appalling death count of journalists: from 2000 to the beginning of 2024, 163 have been murdered and 32 remain missing, a pre-credit roll stat notes in “State of Silence.”

What sets “State of Silence” apart, however, is its sense of intimacy as its follows the lives of four journalists who refuse to be silent about Mexico’s crux: the toxic mix of organized crime syndicates and local governments, or narco-politics.

Two journalists chose exile, one is relocated, another sends his wife and kids to live with his mother, fearing for their safety. Two of them return, however, to high-risk zones to continue reporting.

The doc feature climaxes in scenes which demonstrate what they are up against with now out-going president Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference paranoically rejecting journalists’ criticism of his indifference to journalists’ fates as the opinions of paid underlings of opposition party PRI.

Other Prizes: Humanity & Inventiveness

The ability of doc features to lend a human face to social context was underscored in “The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine,” from Alfredo Pourally.

The director visited the remote Tierra del Fuego region for years until coming upon charismatic artisanal gold miner Toto whose devoted son is building a gold harvesting machine – virtually on his own – to help his ailing father. Their poignant expressions of relief at the end when they finally get the machine up and running are worth their weight in gold.

Sanfic prizes also underscore the sheer inventiveness of Latin American filmmakers. “Our Memory” (“Aullido de invierno”) mixes aspect ratios, fiction and documentary and striking camera work to tell the real-life story of two victims of neo-Nazi colony Colonia Dignidad and a fictional woman (Paulina García) attempting to atone for wrongdoing there.

A world premiere in “I Trust You” melds a high-profile real-life crime – the murder of of 45-year-old teacher Angela Beatriz “Betty” Argañaraz in 2006 – with documentary, fiction and a musical to tease the possible innocence of Susana Acosta and Nélida Fernández, sentenced to 20 years jail for her murder in 2006. Audiences’ decision about the film’s format – is this staged theater? – judges their guilt.

New Talent Reigns

More than anything else, however, the Sanfic and Sanfic Industria prizes are a testament to the slew of new talent still breaking out in Latin America and Spain. 11 of the 13 winning films at Sanfic the year are first or second fiction, doc or solo features. Three of the four biggest winners at Santiago Ibero-American WIP and Santiago Lab Fiction And Documentary were first fiction features.

At the Lab, doc “Southern Channels,” from Chile’s Pilar Higuera, follows young Patagonians who use radios, makeshift devices, and the natural sound of water to connect. The second fiction feature from pioneering Chilean LGBT director Wincy Oyarce, “The Queer Riots” charts homosexuals and transvestites battle for survival in early 1970s Chile.

Of other prizes at Sanfic, in the International Competition, Spanish writer-director-star Itsaso Arana won a best direction special mention for “The Girls Are Alright,” “a gentle study of female friendship that blows in on a warm summer breeze,” said Variety.

“ A sumptuous homage to Hitchcock packaged as a metaphysical noir,” according to Variety , German Tim Kröger’s “The Universal Theory” scooped a special mention in Sanfic’s International Competition. Otherwise, Spanish-language voices prevailed at this year’s Sanfic.

SANFIC AWARDS, 2024

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Best Performance (ex aequo)

Lorenzo Ferro, (“Simon of the Mountain”)

Franklin Aro, (“The Dog Thief”)

Best Director

Agustín Toscano, (“I Trust You”)

Special Mention

Itsaso Arana (“The Girls are Alright”)

“State of Silence,” (Santiago Maza)

“The Universal Theory,” (Timm Kröger)

CHILEAN FILM COMPETITION

Best Performance

Gastón Salgado, (“The Affections”)

Paola Lattus por (“Sariri,” “Las Cenizas”)

Roberto Salinas, (“La Primera Dosis”)

Alberto Hayden, (“Una Luz Negra”)

Shared by “The Fabulous Gold Harvesting Machine,” (Alfredo Pourally)

and “Our Memory,” (Matías Rojas Valencia)

“Las Cenizas,” (Stejpan Ostoic)

SANFIC INDUSTRIA , 2024

IBERO-AMERICAN WORK IN PROGRESS

Malaga Work In Progress Award

“Water Never Hurt,” (Ana Clara Bustelo, Argentina, Uruguay)

Yagan Films & Chemistry Award

“The Clearing,” (Maira Carrasco, Chile)

Marketing Movie Runner Award

“Concert for a Single Voice,” (Alejandra Carpio Valdeavellano, Peru)

“Concert for a Single Voice,”

Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana Award

“Laureano,” (Claudia Ccapatinta, Peru)

LatAm Cinema Award

“Water Never Hurt”

SANTIAGO LAB FICTION AND DOCUMENTARY

SAPCINE Award

“Southern channels,” (Pilar Higuera, Chile)

Atómica Award

“Southern channels,”

Malaga Festival Industry Zone (MAFIZ) Award

“The Queers Riots,” (Wincy Oyarce, Chile)

Festival Intl. de Cine Documental de Buenos Aires (FIDBA) Award

“The Criminal Record of Madame Wittmann,” (Anastasia Benavente, Nicolás Videla, Chile)

Guadalajara Film Festival Co-Production Meeting Industry Award

“Cupid’s Arrow,” (Ernesto Meléndez, Chile)

Cine Qua Non Lab Award

“Arde un reino,” (Catalina Arroyave, Colombia)

Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM) Award

Nuevas Miradas – EICTV Award

“The Shorn Sheep,” (Rossana Castillo, Chile)

SANFIC MORBIDO LAB

Morbido Award 30%

“El Show del Gran Luciferio,” (Caye Casas. Mexico, Spain)

Morbido Award 10%

“El Silencio es la Musica del Diablo,” (Cremance, Mexico)

Fantastic Pavilion Award

“El Show del Gran Luciferio,”

“Loved Ones,” (Guillermo Amoedo, Mexico, España)

Lahaye Media Award

“Loved Ones,”

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IMAGES

114m explorer yacht Luna finally released by Dubai court
Billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov at centre of UK's costliest divorce wins
377' MY LUNA
114m explorer yacht Luna finally released by Dubai court
Luna: The story of the 115m yacht’s €50m refit
Explorer Luna: The New Chapter in the Akhmedov Divorce Case

COMMENTS

Luna (yacht)
Luna was delivered to Russian businessman Roman Abramovich on 10 April 2010. [1] Its exterior was designed by NewCruise of Germany and its interior by Donald Starkey. [3] The yacht's cost has been estimated at over €250m. Luna was sold to Azerbaijani Farkhad Akhmedov, for €200m in April 2014. [5] In October 2014 the yacht was sent to Bremerhaven, Germany, for an extensive refit costing €50m.
Net Worth
Akhmedov is the owner of a the expedition yacht LUNA, that was built for Roman Abramovich. The Luna yacht was once the world's largest expedition yacht, ... Akhmedov agreed to pay his ex-wife $186 million, settling Britain's largest financial dispute. The yacht Luna, with her luxury and status, is valued at $300 million.
LUNA Yacht • Farkhad Akhmedov $300M Superyacht
The Luna yacht was once the world's largest expedition yacht, a title now held by Solaris. Originally owned by Roman Abramovich, Luna is currently owned by Azerbaijani billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov. Luna can accommodate 18 guests with a crew of 49 and has a cruising speed of 18 knots. Akhmedov agreed to pay his ex-wife $186 million, settling ...
FARKHAD AKHMEDOV • Net Worth $1 Billion • House • Yacht
In July 2021 Akhmedov agreed to pay his ex-wife around 135 million pounds ($186 million), ending the largest financial dispute that Britain's divorce courts have ever seen. ... Akhmedov is the owner of a the expedition yacht LUNA, that was built for Roman Abramovich. The Luna yacht was once the world's largest expedition yacht, ...
Superyacht Luna Owner's Ex-Wife In New '£600 Million ...
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By Katia Damborsky 8 October 2020. The saga over the ownership of 114m (375') motor yacht LUNA continues, as Dubai court rules in favour of ex-wife of Farkhad Akhmedov and dismisses claimants' lawsuit, which claims nine-figure damages as a result of lost charter income, as 'groundless'. In the latest round of the costliest divorce battle in ...
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After the 155m/377ft motor yacht LUNA was awarded to the owner's ex-wife in ongoing divorce proceedings last month, the owner claims he will appeal the ruling in the UAE. The saga over the ownership of LUNA continues, as owner Farkhad Akhmedov claims he will appeal the validity of his 2000 divorce of ex-wife Tatiana Akhmedova in Russia in the ...
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The Luna saga, which saw the 115m Lloyd Werft-built superyacht seized in Dubai last year as a result of an acrimonious divorce battle between Farkhad Akhmedov and his British wife Tatiana Akhmedov, has taken a new turn with an appeals court in Dubai determining that the seizure of the vessel, which had been enforced by a freezing order on the part of the British courts, does not hold sway in ...
Luna B
Luna B was first launched in 2005, and was named Dilbar upon delivery to her owner Alisher Usmanov.She was renamed Ona in 2008 when Usmanov took delivery of a new 110 m (360 ft) yacht built by Lürssen which he also named Dilbar. [7]William Kallop bought Ona in 2010 and renamed her Natita after his mother-in-law. In 2014, he took on a $32 million loan from Goldman Sachs with Natita and his ...
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Mike Lynch yacht sinking latest: Manslaughter probe to look at crew responsibility as tributes paid to Hannah - Ambrogio Cartosio, public prosecutor of nearby town Termini Imerese, said specific ...
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The luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily this week was the result of an "endless chain of errors," Giovanni Costantino — who is the CEO of The Italian Sea Group, the company that now ...
Mike Lynch's Missing Daughter Found From Bayesian Yacht
Lynch's wife is the legal owner of the ship and was among those rescued. Others onboard were guests of the Lynch family, including Morvillo, Lynch's lawyer, and his wife and jewelry designer ...
Bayesian yacht sinking: Body of Mike Lynch's daughter Hannah found
Italian divers have retrieved the body of Mike Lynch's 18-year-old daughter, Hannah Lynch, the last person who went missing after the Bayesian, the British tech tycoon's family yacht, sank off the ...
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Friedland was the owner of the yacht Seahorse. He purchased the yacht in the summer of 2015 from billionaire James Packer. He sold her in 2017. He now owns Luna B, and Azteca. And he built the 77 meter yacht Pi. He sold her in 2020 to Howard Schultz. The Luna B yacht, valued at $60 million, was built by the reputable yacht manufacturer Oceanco ...
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British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among the six people missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily in the early hours of Monday ...
Manslaughter probe announced in Sicily yacht wreck that killed 7
Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife and the owner of the yacht Angela Bacares, were rescued from the water. A frantic search of the water and the sunken vessel ultimately recovered the bodies of seven people over the next few days: Lynch, his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; lawyer Christopher Morvillo, an American, and his wife Neda Morvillo ...
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Records show that she controlled Revtom, the company listed as the owner of the Bayesian. The body of Hannah Lynch , Mr. Lynch and Ms. Bacares's 18-year-old daughter, was thought to be recovered ...
Body of Mike Lynch found, recovered from sunken yacht wreckage
Lynch, 59, was best known as the co-founder of Britain's largest enterprise software, Autonomy, which was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He had invited his friends on the yacht to celebrate ...
Santiago Maza Doc Feature From Diego LunacTops Sanfic
Other big winners at Sanfic, Sanfic Industry: 'I Trust You,' 'Our Memory,' 'Water Never Hurt,' 'Concert for a Single Voice'

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Mike Lynch yacht sinking latest: Manslaughter probe to look at crew responsibility as tributes paid to Hannah

Prosecutor says likely Bayesian victims tried to escape sinking superyacht

Tributes to a ‘brave’ and ‘selfless’ friend who died on Bayesian

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Next step: Pulling the Bayesian out of the sea ‘complex and costly'

No tornado alert before sinking - coastguard say

Captain and other survivors questioned after Bayesian tragedy

Lynch’s pay tribute to father and daughter lost on Bayesian

Diver describes tragic conditions aboard the Bayesian wreck

Recap: Bayesian crew allowed to leave Sicily

Final moments of Bayesian victims revealed

Tragic Hannah said she would save parents if they ever got in trouble swimming

Timeline of the Bayesian luxury yacht disaster in Sicily: Monday 19 - Wednesday 21 August

Watch: Final moments of seven who died in Bayesian tragedy revealed by fire service boss

Pictured: Bayesian superyacht

Video: Italian prosecutor announces manslaughter investigation over Mike Lynch yacht sinking

Key questions for investigators of the Bayesian yacht tragedy in Sicily

Passengers were asleep and therefore unable to escape, prosecutors say

Watch: Mike Lynch’s friend mourns ‘unbelievably tragic’ death after fraud trial acquittal

ICYMI: Bodies were recovered from cabins on the left side of the yacht

Watch: Manslaughter investigation launched into Mike Lynch yacht deaths

No autopsies have been carried out yet

We have no idea why five bodies were found in same cabin, prosecution says

Yacht Sank in Sicily Due to ‘Endless Chain of Errors,' Ship Maker's Owner Speculates: ‘Everything Was Predictable’

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Manslaughter probe announced in Sicily yacht wreck that killed 7

Investigation underway to find out how yacht sank

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